Systems and methods for enabling stations to connect to wireless hotspots using non-unicode service set identification information

ABSTRACT

Embodiments relate to systems and methods for enabling stations to connect to wireless hotspots using non-Unicode service set identification information. A WiFi™ wireless router or other access point can broadcast beacon information to smart phones or other stations within wireless range of that device. In existing access point implementations, the character set in which the access point broadcasts this information, including a service set identification indicating the connection services available from the access point, are assumed to be encoded in Unicode format, specifically, UTF-8 format. While English-language options are properly displayed, character sets and/or languages which are not encoded in Unicode (UTF-8) format are translated into unintelligible characters using this approach. According to embodiments, access point hardware can be configured to broadcast the type of character set encoding in the beacon information itself, for instance, in existing SSID information elements, vendor-specific information elements, and/or other locations in the beacon data.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/595,291, filed Feb. 6, 2012, entitled “Systems and Methods forEnabling Stations to Connect to Wireless Hotspots Using Non-UnicodeService Set Identification Information,” by the same inventors herein,which application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present teachings relate to systems and methods for enablingstations to connect to wireless hotspots using non-Unicode service setidentification information. The present teachings more particularlyrelate to platforms and techniques for enabling the specification of acharacter set which a wireless router or other WiFi™ access point isusing to broadcast available service sets to wireless devices in rangeof that access point

BACKGROUND

It has been observed that there are common potential problems in smartphones based on the Android™ operating system or others, in terms ofconnectivity to wireless WiFi™ routers, hot spots, or other accesspoints (APs) broadcasting in certain languages. One problem is thatAndroid™-based phones or other devices are unable to show the exactservice set identification (SSID) name of the wireless router in thephone's scan window for WiFi™ routers or other access points which areconfigured with SSID data in languages other than English. Thosealternative languages can be or include languages such as Chinese,Indian, Spanish, etc. This, by itself, means that if there are twoco-located AP's which are each configured with a unique Chinese SSID,for instance, and the user of the smart phone or other device wants toconnect to one of the two, then the user has no basis upon which tochoose one to connect to, just by viewing the scan window of the smartphone graphical user interface (GUI).

BACKGROUND

The reason for this difficulty is that existing smart phones or otherdevices will display unintelligible or junk characters in place of theintended Chinese characters indicating SSID information in thatlanguage. To make matters worse, even if the user guesses and selectsone of the access points to connect to, the smart phone is typically notable to establish a connection with the selected router or hot spot.Some smart phones are not even capable or recognizing or scanning anaccess point when the SSID is configured in Chinese, Indian, Spanish,etc. This is a significant limitation of smart phones from theperspective of many users, because a smart phone which is expected toconnect with any WiFi™ hot spot in the world can actually paralyze thecomplete WLAN feature of the smart phone when the phone's user tries toconnect to those hot spots which are configured with non-English SSID's,as mentioned above.

In terms of smart phones based on the Android™ operating system, thereason that Android™ phones display “junk” characters for Chinese orother languages is not because the Android™ graphical user interface(GUI), which is powered or supported by the Java™ framework, does notsupport Chinese characters. Instead, a significant part of thedifficulty lies in the way processing of SSID information is handled inthe existing Android™ operating system and related logic. Moreparticularly, the Android™ framework, including the supplicant moduleused to establish connections to hotspots, is completely unaware of theencoding format in which the SSID name is encoded in beacon framesbroadcast by the access point. Instead, smart phones based on theexisting Android™ operating system merely and always assume that SSIDinformation passed to them is in Unicode (UTF-8 code) format. Thisdefault processing of character sets results in anomalous behavior ifthe SSID is encoded in a coding format other than Unicode. As noted,wireless routers or other access point devices may be encoded innon-Unicode formats in many regions of the world, including as notedChina, as well as other locations.

To consider the existing SSID format used by smart phones connecting toWiFi™ access points, the SSID information is presented in an SSIDInformation Element identified by Element Id: 0, in a structure which isillustrated in FIG. 1. The SSID IE shown is mandated by industrystandards published by the Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers, or “IEEE.”. As per this SSID IE which is defined by the IEEEstandards, the only significant information conveyed is the SSID nameand the length of the SSID. There is no additional information that isavailable to assist in identifying the character set, associatedlanguage, or other extended characteristics of a WiFi™ access point.

A scenario can likewise be considered in which there are two accesspoints transmitting and announcing their SSID's, which might be inEnglish and Chinese, respectively, within a local broadcast range. Asexpected the SSID IE's broadcast the SSID's, but the English SSID isencoded according to ASCII code set, whereas the Chinese SSID might beencoded according to the official Guo Biou (GB) code set promulgated forChinese character processing.

The smart phone supplicant module, which interfaces between the Java™framework and the underlying WLAN driver and other transceiver logic,receives these two SSID IE's from the WLAN interface. The supplicantmodule passes both of them on to the Android™ graphical user interface(GUI) framework. That GUI framework handles the responsibility ofappropriately decoding the SSID name and displaying it in the smartphone's WiFi™ scan window or other display. But the Chinese SSID whichis encoded in the separate GB code is assumed to be represented UTF-8compatible code, causing it to be decoded incorrectly by the Android™Java™ framework, since that framework attempts to decode the GB codeassuming the character set information is available in UTF-8 format.

This incompatibility leads to unintelligible or “junk” characters beingdisplayed in the device's scan window. In contrast, since the UTF-8values for ASCII-based characters are identical, the scan window showsthe English SSID correctly on the smart phone.

If an attempt were made to manage the issue for Chinese or othernon-English SSIDs outside conventional ASCII set, that approach wouldcause the supplicant module and Java™ framework module installed on thesmart phone to require very complex and possibly unreliable decodinglogic to identify whether the SSID name is encoded in ASCII, GB code, orany other encoding scheme that the access point might use. It may beremembered that there is no guideline mandated by the IEEE for accesspoint manufacturers to encode the SSID in any particular coding format.That lack of standardization makes the possible decoding of the accesspoint character set by the smart phone itself that much more difficultat the supplicant/framework level.

It may be desirable to provide systems and methods for enabling stationsto connect to wireless hotspots using non-Unicode service setidentification information, in which the access point can systematicallyshare which coding scheme is used for the character set used for theSSID broadcast by that device. This information can be passed to theAndroid™ operating system, Java™ framework, and/or other logic which canthen accurately and reliably parse the SSID based on a variety ofdifferent character coding schemes, providing visibility into WiFi™networks by users of a variety of languages.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the presentteachings and together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the present teachings. In the figures:

FIG. 1 illustrates a service set information element as used in knownWiFi™ systems;

FIG. 2 illustrates an overall wireless WiFi™ network in which systemsand methods for enabling stations to connect to wireless hotspots usingnon-Unicode service set identification information can operate,according to various embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates features of an individual smart phone or other WiFi™station, according to various embodiments;

FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate various character set encoding schemes that canbe used in stations to connect to wireless hotspots using non-Unicodeservice set identification information, in which an SSID IE structure isextended according to the present teachings, according to variousembodiments;

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate possible formats that can be adopted forallowing stations to connect to wireless hotspots using non-Unicodeservice set identification information, in which a vendor-specific IE isadded to the beacon frame that can carry the character set encodinginformation, according to various embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates overall character set encoding operations that can beused in configuring stations to connect to wireless hotspots usingnon-Unicode service set identification information, according to variousembodiments; and

FIG. 7 illustrates exemplary hardware, software, and other resourcesthat can be used in enabling stations to connect to wireless hotspotsusing non-Unicode service set identification information, according tovarious embodiments.

DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present teachings relate to systems and methods forenabling stations to connect to wireless hotspots using non-Unicodeservice set identification information. More particularly, embodimentsrelate to platforms and techniques for generating and embedding nativecharacter set information into the beacon information broadcast bywireless routers and/or other access points in a WiFi™ and/or otherwireless networks. According to aspects, an identification of thecharacter set, and/or associated language, used by an access point canbe inserted into SSID information elements and/or otherwise built intoextended encoding schemes transmitted by the access point broadcastingto one or more smart phones and/or other stations within operating rangeof that wireless device. Each receiving smart phone or other station canbe configured to locate and decode the embedded character setinformation in the beacon, to allow a user to view and select accesspoints in their intended operating language. That can be accomplishedwhether that character set and/or language is encoded in the Unicodeformat, or other formats. Enhanced portability, reliability, andusability of WiFi™ routers and operations can thereby be achieved.

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of thepresent teachings, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.Where possible the same reference numbers will be used throughout thedrawings to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 2 illustrates an overall network environment 100 in which systemsand methods for enabling stations to connect to wireless hotspots usingnon-Unicode service set identification information can operate,according to aspects. In aspects as shown, an access point 108 canbroadcast a wireless network signal to a set of stations 102 withinrange. In aspects, the access point 108 can be or include a wirelessrouter, hub, extender, and/or other network access point, and can inembodiments be configured to operate using the WiFi™ wireless standard,specified by IEEE specification 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, and/or otherexisting or future standards. In aspects, when operating as a WiFi™access point, the access point 108 can for instance operate in the 2.4GHz frequency band. It will be appreciated however that inimplementations, other wireless access standards, channels, protocols,and/or frequencies can be used.

In aspects, each device or station in the set of stations 102 can be orinclude any wireless-network enabled device, such as a WiFi™-equippedsmart phone, touch pad device, media player device, GPS (globalpositioning system) device, and/or other device or network-enabledplatform. In aspects, and as shown in FIG. 3, each individual station118 in the set of stations 102 can be configured with one or morehardware, software, service, and/or other resources. In aspects asshown, a station 118 can comprise various hardware, software, and otherresources, including an operating system 112, a display 110 which canfor instance be or include a graphical user interface (GUI) of theoperating system 112, and a radio frequency antenna 150 (or multipleantennas). In aspects, the operating system 112 can comprise a mobiledevice operating system such as the Android™ operating system availablefrom Google Inc., Mountain View, Calif., U.S. or others. In aspects, theoperating system 112 as noted can comprise a graphical user interface(GUI), as well as file management, power management, communications,security, and/or other logic, services, and/or resources to operate eachstation 118. According to aspects, each individual station 118 canlikewise host applications, services, logic, and/or modules including asupplicant module 114 used to establish connections to access pointsand/or other channels. Each individual station 118 can likewiseincorporate a Java™ framework 116, used to support the execution ofJava™-based services and applications on the station 118.

In aspects, any one or more of the set of stations 102 can in general beconnected, or available to be connected, to the access point 108 at onetime. In general, and as likewise shown in FIG. 2, the access point 108can broadcast beacon information 104 to the set of stations 102. Thebeacon information 104 can in general include a service setidentification (SSID) information element (IE) 106 indicating the name,connection type, occupied and/or available channels, and other networkinformation and services provided by the access point 108 to any stationwithin its wireless connection range. According to aspects, in general,the beacon information 104 broadcast by the access point 108 configuredaccording to the teachings herein can comprise not just the standardSSID IE 106, but also character set information 120 indicating orencoding the type of character set formatting or encoding used tobroadcast the SSID IE 106, and/or other information. By incorporatingnative character set information 120 into the beacon information 104itself, each smart phone or other station 118 in the set of stations 102can receive, decode, and display that information about the access point108, regardless of whether the SSID IE 106 is stored or encoded in theUnicode format, and/or other proprietary or distinct character setencoding schemes.

According to aspects, the character set information 120 which identifiesthe character set encoding scheme can be embedded in the beaconinformation 104 in various ways, according to various embodiments.However, it will be appreciated that all implementations permit the useof non-Unicode or propriety character sets by the access point 108, andthe recognition of those character sets by the set of stations 102. Morespecifically and as for instance illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4C, thecharacter set information 120 can be encoded within the standard SSID IE106 format by either adding additional fields, or “borrowing” or“stealing” selected bits from the existing fields, of that informationelement.

More particularly, as for example shown in FIG. 4A, the character setinformation 120 and/or portions thereof can be encoded in an additionalfield labeled “Encoding” added to the SSID IE 106. The Encoding fieldcan be stored in a variety of formats and/or lengths, such as a one-byteor two-byte value indicating the character set to be used, for instance,via a look-up table and/or other reference. According to aspects, and asfor example further shown in FIG. 4B, the character set information 120and/or portions thereof can instead be encoded in selected bits of theexisting Length (L) field (this legacy 1 byte Length (L) field may alsobe referred to herein as an encoding (E) and length (L) field, since itcarries both encoding and length information) of the standard SSID IE106. In aspects as shown in FIG. 4B, the first two bits of the encoding(E) and length (L) field can be re-assigned or re-interpreted as thespecification of the character set used by the access point 108, therebyallowing four independent character sets to be specified and used.

In additional implementations, and as shown in FIG. 4C, the characterset information 120 and/or portions thereof can alternatively be encodedin last two bits of the encoding (E) and length (L) field. According toaspects, the use of encoding schemes or types as illustrated in FIGS. 4Band 4C result in particularly compact encoding formats, since theoverall length of the SSID IE 106 is not enlarged to accommodate thecharacter set information 120. It will be appreciated, however, thatother bit combinations and/or positions can be used to encode thecharacter set information 120, as desired.

According to implementations in further regards, the character setinformation 120 can also be encoded or embedded in other positions inthe SSID IE 106 or related information, such as a vendor-specificinformation element (IE) 122 which is added to or specified in thebeacon information 104, but which is not incorporated in the base SSIDIE 106. In aspects, and as for example shown in FIG. 5A, thevendor-specific information element (IE) 122 can be configured as aCisco-compatible extension (CCX), illustratively labeled “Type 1,”having an illustrative format as shown in that figure, including anElement ID field, a length field, an organizationally unique identifier(OUI) field, a version field, and a separate CCX version field. Inaspects, and as for example shown in FIG. 5B, the vendor-specificinformation element (IE) 122 can be configured in a non-CCX basedformat, labeled as “Type 2,” including an Element ID field, a lengthfield, an organizationally unique identifier (OUI) field, and a datafield (illustratively two bytes). Any one or more of the foregoingfields or combinations of fields, and/or other fields or combinationscan be used consistent with implementations shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B toencode or specify the character set used by the access point 108 and/orSSID IE 106 being broadcast by that access point, which can again beidentified or determined via a look-up table and/or other reference.

It may be noted that, according to aspects, implementations as shown inFIGS. 5A and 5B may hold advantages in terms of backward compatibilitywith existing WiFi™ access point and station hardware. This can be thecase because devices configured according to the existing industrystandards can continue to operate in the usual or expected manner, evenwhen those devices operate in the presence of platforms equipped withencoding schemes according to the present teachings. More particularly,implementations using a vendor-specific information element (IE) 122enjoy an advantage compared to other solutions involving the extensionof the SSID IE 106, since backward compatibility is ensured. Inimplementations using a vendor-specific information element (IE) 122,various scenarios can be compatibly or transparently handed, from theperspective of a user of a station 118 or other device. Particularly, astation 118 which is not adapted or upgraded according to the presentteachings and/or cannot parse or understand the vendor-specificinformation element (IE) 122 which has encoding information may bereferred to as an “old station.” In contrast, a station which is adaptedor upgraded to use features of the present teachings and can parse orunderstand the vendor-specific information element (IE) 122 which hascharacter set encoding information may be referred to as a “newstation.” Similarly for access points, an access point which is notadapted or upgraded to support features of sending a vendor-specificinformation element (IE) 122 with encoded character set information maybe referred to as an “old access point,” while an access point which isadapted or upgraded to support features of sending a vendor-specificinformation element (IE) 122 with encoded character set information canbe referred to as a “new access point.” Using those terms or references,according to embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B, if there is anyold station 118 that receives beacon information 104 from a new accesspoint 108, then the old station 118 can safely ignore the additional IEsince it does not understand that construction.

Conversely, if there is any new station 118 that receives beaconinformation from a new access point 108, then the new station 118 canparse the encoding information located in the vendor-specificinformation element (IE) 122, as described herein. On the other hand, ifthere is a new station 118 which receives beacon information 104 from anold access point 108, then the new station 118 will still be able toensure that the current behavior (i.e., the way in which an existing orold station 118 behaves with an existing or old access point 108)remains intact or unaltered.

In terms of overall operation, according to any of the variousimplementations described herein, the access point 108 thereforetransmits the beacon information 104 incorporating character setinformation 120 including encoding information which serves to identifythe encoding logic, character set, language, and/or other formatting orlogic used by the access point 108 to pack the SSID IE 106 in the beaconinformation 104. The supplicant module 114 of any individual receivingstation 118 can then parse the correct data field from the appropriateinformation element and/or field of the beacon information 104 (e.g.,extended or altered fields of the standard SSID IE 106 and/orvendor-specific information element (IE) 122) which gives the encodingvalue.

The supplicant module 114 can then pass this encoding value to the Java™framework 116, along with the SSID data, including the constituentfields and/or IEs that it communicates to the Java™ framework 116 incurrent implementations not employing platforms and techniques describedherein. The Java™ framework 116 can then decode the raw SSID data basedon the specified encoding information. According to aspects, once acharacter set is identified, the Java™ framework 116 can for instancelook up and/or otherwise retrieve that character set, for instance, fromlocal memory or storage, and/or from remote sources. The Java™ framework116 can accordingly display the SSID and/or other information to theuser via display 110 of the station 118 in a properly decoded characterset and/or language. According to aspects, the Java™ framework 116 mayonly understand Unicode (UTF-8 or other) encoding, so that anyultimately identified character set encoding has to be eventuallydecoded and/or translated to equivalent UTF-8 code set. The Java™framework 116 of the station 118 can then display the appropriate fontsin the display 110 via a graphical user interface (GUI) screen and/orother interface, assuming support for necessary fonts is in place.

According to aspects, when user tries to connect to a particular accesspoint 108, then the Java™ framework 116 can exchange the necessaryinformation with the supplicant module 114 via a “SET_NETWORK” or othercommand. Based on the information passed to the supplicant module 114,the supplicant module 114 will be able to choose the correct accesspoint 108 from the list of scanned access points available to thestation 118 which the supplicant module 114 is aware of. The supplicantmodule 114 can then for instance transmit an authorization frame, thefirst frame that gets exchanged between a station and access point whena new connection is initiated according to WiFi™ standards, essentiallyensuring the connection of the station 118 to the access point 108.According to aspects, the user of station 118 is thereby enabled to notonly see the access point 108 in the scan window in the correctlanguage, but is also ensured to be able to successfully connect to theaccess point 108, as well. Those abilities represent a significantimprovement over the non-standard language scenario in systems notequipped with platforms and techniques described herein.

It may be noted that the systems and methods discussed herein are notlimited to the above types or categories of use case scenarios, but canalso be implemented in any related or other scenarios where associationactivities or other operations on a wireless network (WLAN or other)system become paralyzed or are otherwise affected because of the use ofa non-Unicode character set. For instance, consider an access point 108which is configured with a non-English SSID and which is configured orestablished as having a “Hidden” status. Such an access point 108 cannottransmit beacon information 104. In the absence of beacon information104, a station in the set of stations 102 desiring access will be forcedto send a Unicast Probe Request, with the appropriate SSID informationin an encoding format understandable to the access point 108, to be ableto attempt to connect to the access point 108. If the station can notsend a Probe Request with SSID information encoded in the formatexpected by the access point 108, then the requesting station may neverbe able to connect to the access point 108. To ensure that such ascenario is also appropriately addressed, according to systems andmethods according to the present teachings, the supplicant module 114,the graphical user interface (GUI) of the smart phone or other station118, any WiFi™ driver installed on that phone or device, the accesspoint 108, and/or other network resources can be configured toincorporate character set encoding, platforms, and/or techniques asdescribed herein. Hence in implementations, not just the beaconinformation 104 itself, but also any Probe Request transmitted by astation 118, resulting Probe Response frames from the access point 118,and/or other frames, fields, data, elements, and/or information caninclude the character set encoding information 120, the SSID informationidentifying or employing the correct encoding set, and/or otherassociated information or data.

As can therefore be understood, by having native provisions in thebeacon information 104, probe request, response frame, and/or otherframe, field, and/or element which specifies character set encoding, aflexible approach to character set processing is adopted. According toaspects of the present teachings, the burden of decoding character setinformation is avoided on the supplicant module 114 and/or any otherassociated logic, service, or module of a smart phone or other WiFi™platform. This results in a robust decoding scheme that converts anydesired character set code to UTF-8, other Unicode standard, and/orother protocol or standard. A less complex design for each station 118can therefore be achieved, while still providing robust languagecapabilities to the overall network environment 100. Platforms andtechniques according to the present teachings also lead to greaterflexibility in character set decoding, and likewise involve fewernecessary dependencies in carrying out character processing operations.These advantages can be observed as WiFi™ hotspots become more common indifferent regions of the world, and as more users move to smart phonesin regions where English is not the native language. Smart phone usersand users of other devices can therefore connect to an available accesspoint, regardless of what language the SSID is configured in.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of character set encoding and otherprocessing that can be performed in systems and methods for enablingstations to connect to wireless hotspots using non-Unicode service setidentification information, according to aspects. In 602, processing canbegin. In 604, an access point 108 can be configured with one or moreextended character set encoding schemes encoded in the beaconinformation 104, according to various implementations of the presentteachings. In 606, the access point 108 can broadcast the beaconinformation 104, including character set encoding information 120, to aset of stations 102 within range of the access point 108. In 608, thetype of character set encoding and/or other information can beidentified in a receiving station 118 (or stations), using theidentified extended encoding scheme.

For instance, the beacon information 104 can contain fields and/orinformation elements, including those illustrated herein, indicating anencoding of character sets in the SSID IE 106, and/or in avendor-specific information element (IE) 122. In 610, the receivingstation 118 (or stations) can decode and/or display the SSID IE 106 ofthe broadcasting access point 108, for instance using the supplicantmodule 114, Java™ framework 116, operating system 112, and/or othersoftware, logic, module, and/or service. The SSID IE 106 and/or otherinformation can be displayed in the character set and/or languageindicated in the character set encoding information 120, for instance ina scan window of station 118. In 612, the access point 108 can receive auser selection, authorization frame from the communicating station 118(or stations), and/or other “handshake” or transaction between theaccess point 108 and communicating station 118. In 614, a networkconnection, for instance, to the Internet and/or other public or privatenetwork, can be established via the selected access point 108. In 616,processing can repeat, return to a prior processing point, jump to afurther processing point, or end.

FIG. 7 illustrates various hardware, software, and other resources thatcan be used in implementations of enabling stations to connect towireless hotspots using non-Unicode service set identificationinformation, according to embodiments. In embodiments as shown, theaccess point 108 can comprise features of a processor 142 communicatingwith memory 144, such as electronic random access memory, as well aswith a network interface, such as an Ethernet™ and/or other wired orwireless connection to the Internet and/or other networks. The processor140 can be programmed or configured to carry out character set encodingoperations, network connectivity operations, and other operationsaccording to the present teachings. The processor 140 can alsocommunicate with a local data store 146, such as a local hard diskand/or other storage, as well as to a wireless interface 148, such as aWiFi™-compatible chipset, including radio frequency chip set(s) andassociated hardware and software, which may be connected to a radiofrequency antenna 152 (or multiple antennas).

The foregoing description is illustrative, and variations inconfiguration and implementation may occur to persons skilled in theart. For example, while embodiments have been described in whichencoding into certain languages, such as Chinese, Indian, and Spanish,is performed, it will be appreciated that encoding into any desiredcharacter set, language, and/or symbolic scheme can be performed.Similarly, while embodiments have been described in which one accesspoint 108 broadcasts to a set of stations 102, in embodiments, multipleaccess points 108 can broadcast to one or to multiple smart phones orother stations 118 and/or sets of stations 102. Other resourcesdescribed as singular or integrated can in embodiments be plural ordistributed, and resources described as multiple or distributed can inembodiments be combined. The scope of the present teachings isaccordingly intended to be limited only by the following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of encoding character setinformation, comprising: retrieving character set informationidentifying a non-Unicode character set for an access point broadcastinga wireless beacon, the wireless beacon comprising a service setidentification information element comprising a service setidentification for the access point; identifying at least one field inthe wireless beacon associated with the service set identification inwhich to encode the character set information; embedding the characterset information in the at least one field of the wireless beacon fordecoding by one or more wireless stations receiving the wireless beaconto display the non-Unicode character set in Unicode format for selectionof a network connection; and packing at least a portion of the serviceset identification information element in the wireless beacon accordingto the non-Unicode character set.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinembedding the character set information comprises embedding thecharacter set information in a specified field of the service setidentification information element.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinembedding the character set information comprises embedding thecharacter set information in a dedicated encoding field of the serviceset identification information element.
 4. The method of claim 2,wherein embedding the character set information comprises embedding thecharacter set information in a specified subset of bits of a lengthfield of the service set identification information element.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein embedding the character set informationcomprises embedding the character set information in a vendor-specificinformation element.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein thevendor-specific information element comprises at least an element IDfield, a length field, an organizationally unique identifier field, aversion field, and a Cisco-compatible type extensions version field. 7.The method of claim 5, wherein the vendor-specific information elementcomprises at least an element ID field, a length field, anorganizationally unique identifier field, and a data field.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the access point comprises a wireless router.9. The method of claim 8, wherein the wireless router comprises a WiFi™device.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving anauthentication frame from the at least one station to establish aconnection to the access point.
 11. A wireless system, comprising: awireless interface to at least one wireless station in wireless range ofan access point; and a processor, communicating with the at least onestation via the wireless interface, the processor being configured to:retrieve character set information identifying a non-Unicode characterset for the access point, the access point being configured to broadcasta wireless beacon, the wireless beacon comprising a service setidentification information element comprising a service setidentification for the access point; identify at least one field in thewireless beacon associated with the service set identification in whichto encode the character set information; embed the character setinformation in the at least one field of the wireless beacon fordecoding by at least one wireless station receiving the wireless beaconto display the non-Unicode character set in Unicode format for selectionof a network connection; and pack at least a portion of the service setidentification information element in the wireless beacon according tothe non-Unicode character set.
 12. The system of claim 11, whereinembedding the character set information comprises embedding thecharacter set information in a specified field of the service setidentification information element.
 13. The system of claim 12, whereinembedding the character set information comprises embedding thecharacter set information in a dedicated encoding field of the serviceset identification information element.
 14. The system of claim 12,wherein embedding the character set information comprises embedding thecharacter set information in a specified subset of bits of a lengthfield of the service set identification information element.
 15. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein embedding the character set informationcomprises embedding the character set information in a vendor-specificinformation element.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein thevendor-specific information element comprises at least an element IDfield, a length field, an organizationally unique identifier field, aversion field, and a Cisco-compatible type extensions version field. 17.The system of claim 15, wherein the vendor-specific information elementcomprises at least an element ID field, a length field, anorganizationally unique identifier field, and a data field.
 18. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the access point comprises a wirelessrouter.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the wireless routercomprises a WiFi™ device.
 20. The system of claim 11, wherein theprocessor is further configured to receive an authentication frame fromat least one wireless station to establish a connection to the accesspoint.
 21. A wireless system, comprising: wireless interface means to atleast one wireless station means in wireless range of access pointmeans; and processor means, communicating with the at least one stationvia the wireless interface, the processor means being configured to:retrieve character set information identifying a non-Unicode characterset for the access point means, the access point means being configuredto broadcast a wireless beacon, the wireless beacon comprising a serviceset identification information element comprising a service setidentification for the access point means; identify at least one fieldin the wireless beacon associated with the service set identification inwhich to encode the character set information; embed the character setinformation in the at least one field of the wireless beacon fordecoding by at least one wireless station means receiving the wirelessbeacon to display the non-Unicode character set in Unicode format forselection of a network connection; and pack at least a portion of theservice set identification information element in the wireless beaconaccording to the non-Unicode character set.
 22. The system of claim 21,wherein embedding the character set information comprises embedding thecharacter set information in a specified field of the service setidentification information element.
 23. The system of claim 22, whereinembedding the character set information comprises embedding thecharacter set information in a dedicated encoding field of the serviceset identification information element.
 24. The system of claim 22,wherein embedding the character set information comprises embedding thecharacter set information in a specified subset of bits of a lengthfield of the service set identification information element.
 25. Thesystem of claim 21, wherein embedding the character set informationcomprises embedding the character set information in a vendor-specificinformation element.
 26. The system of claim 25, wherein vendor-specificinformation element comprises at least an element ID field, a lengthfield, an organizationally unique identifier field, a version field, anda Cisco-compatible type extensions version field.
 27. The system ofclaim 25, wherein the vendor-specific information element comprises atleast an element ID field, a length field, an organizationally uniqueidentifier field, and a data field.
 28. The system of claim 21, whereinthe access point means comprises a wireless router means.
 29. The systemof claim 28, wherein the wireless router means comprises a WiFi™ devicemeans.
 30. The system of claim 21, wherein the processor means isfurther configured to receive an authentication frame from the at leastone wireless station means to establish a connection to the access pointmeans.
 31. A computer program product, comprising: a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium comprising: at least one instruction forcausing a computer to retrieve character set information identifying anon-Unicode character set for an access point broadcasting a wirelessbeacon, the wireless beacon comprising a service set identificationinformation element comprising a service set identification for theaccess point; at least one instruction for causing the computer toidentify at least one field in the wireless beacon associated with theservice set identification in which to encode the character setinformation; at least one instruction for causing the computer to embedthe character set information in the at least one field of the wirelessbeacon for decoding by one or more wireless stations receiving thewireless beacon to display the non-Unicode character set in Unicodeformat for selection of a network connection; and at least oneinstruction for causing the computer to pack at least a portion of theservice set identification information element in the wireless beaconaccording to the non-Unicode character set.
 32. The computer programproduct of claim 31, wherein embedding the character set informationcomprises embedding the character set information in a specified fieldof the service set identification information element.
 33. The method ofclaim 32, wherein embedding the character set information comprisesembedding the character set information in a dedicated encoding field ofthe service set identification information element.
 34. The computerprogram product of claim 32, wherein embedding the character setinformation comprises embedding the character set information in aspecified subset of bits of a length field of the service setidentification information element.
 35. The computer program product ofclaim 31, wherein embedding the character set information comprisesembedding the character set information in a vendor-specific informationelement.
 36. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein thevendor-specific information element comprises at least an element IDfield, a length field, an organizationally unique identifier field, aversion field, and a Cisco-compatible type extensions version field. 37.The computer program product of claim 35, wherein the vendor-specificinformation element comprises at least an element ID field, a lengthfield, an organizationally unique identifier field, and a data field.38. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the access pointcomprises a wireless router.
 39. The computer program product of claim38, wherein the wireless router comprises a WiFi™ device.
 40. Thecomputer program product of claim 31, further comprising at least oneinstruction for causing a computer to receive an authentication framefrom at least one station to establish a connection to the access point.41. A method of decoding character set information, comprising: locatingcharacter set information identifying a non-Unicode character set for anaccess point in a wireless beacon broadcast by the access point, thewireless beacon comprising a service set identification informationelement comprising a service set identification for the access pointencoded in the character set; decoding the service set identificationinformation element packed in the wireless beacon in accordance with thenon-Unicode character set and broadcast by the access point using thenon-Unicode character set; and presenting the service set identificationin Unicode format to a user of at least one station receiving thewireless beacon to select a network connection.
 42. The method of claim41, wherein locating the character set information comprises extractingthe character set information from a specified field of the service setidentification information element.
 43. The method of claim 42, whereinlocating the character set information comprises extracting thecharacter set information from a dedicated encoding field of the serviceset identification information element.
 44. The method of claim 42,wherein locating the character set information comprises extracting thecharacter set information from a specified subset of bits of a lengthfield of the service set identification information element.
 45. Themethod of claim 41, wherein locating the character set informationcomprises extracting the character set information from avendor-specific information element.
 46. The method of claim 45, whereinthe vendor-specific information element comprises at least an element IDfield, a length field, an organizationally unique identifier field, aversion field, and a Cisco-compatible type extensions version field. 47.The method of claim 45, wherein the vendor-specific information elementcomprises at least an element ID field, a length field, anorganizationally unique identifier field, and a data field.
 48. Themethod of claim 41, wherein the access point comprises a wirelessrouter.
 49. The method of claim 48, wherein the wireless routercomprises a WiFi™ device.
 50. The method of claim 41, further comprisingtransmitting an authentication frame from at least one station toestablish a connection to the access point.
 51. A wireless station,comprising: a wireless interface to at least one wireless access pointin wireless range of the wireless station; and a processor,communicating with the at least one access point via the wirelessinterface, the processor being configured to— locate character setinformation identifying a non-Unicode character set for the access pointin a wireless beacon broadcast by the access point, the wireless beaconcomprising a service set identification information element comprising aservice set identification for the access point encoded in the characterset, decode the service set identification information element packed inthe wireless beacon in accordance with the non-Unicode character set andbroadcast by the access point using the non-Unicode character set, andpresent the service set identification in Unicode format to a user ofthe wireless station to select a network connection.
 52. The wirelessstation of claim 51, wherein locating the character set informationcomprises extracting the character set information from a specifiedfield of the service set identification information element.
 53. Thewireless station of claim 52, wherein locating the character setinformation comprises extracting the character set information from adedicated encoding field of the service set identification informationelement.
 54. The wireless station of claim 52, wherein locating thecharacter set information comprises extracting the character setinformation from a specified subset of bits of a length field of theservice set identification information element.
 55. The wireless stationof claim 51, wherein locating the character set information comprisesextracting the character set information from a vendor-specificinformation element.
 56. The wireless station of claim 55, wherein thevendor-specific information element comprises at least an element IDfield, a length field, an organizationally unique identifier field, aversion field, and a Cisco-compatible type extensions version field. 57.The wireless station of claim 55, wherein the vendor-specificinformation element comprises at least an element ID field, a lengthfield, an organizationally unique identifier field, and a data field.58. The wireless station of claim 51, wherein the access point comprisesa wireless router.
 59. The wireless station of claim 58, wherein thewireless router comprises a WiFi™ device.
 60. The wireless station ofclaim 51, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit anauthentication frame from the wireless station to establish a connectionto the access point.
 61. A wireless station, comprising: wirelessinterface means to at least one wireless access point in wireless rangeof the wireless station means; and processor means, communicating withthe at least one access point means via the wireless interface means,the processor means being configured to— locate character setinformation identifying a non-Unicode character set for the access pointin a wireless beacon broadcast by the access point means, the wirelessbeacon comprising a service set identification information elementcomprising a service set identification for the access point meansencoded in the character set, decode the service set identificationinformation element packed in the wireless beacon in accordance with thenon-Unicode character set and broadcast by the access point using thenon-Unicode character set, and present the service set identification inUnicode format to a user of the wireless station means to select anetwork connection.
 62. The wireless station of claim 61, whereinlocating the character set information comprises extracting thecharacter set information from a specified field of the service setidentification information element.
 63. The wireless station of claim62, wherein locating the character set information comprises extractingthe character set information from a dedicated encoding field of theservice set identification information element.
 64. The wireless stationof claim 62, wherein locating the character set information comprisesextracting the character set information from a specified subset of bitsof a length field of the service set identification information element.65. The wireless station of claim 61, wherein locating the character setinformation comprises extracting the character set information from avendor-specific information element.
 66. The wireless station of claim65, wherein the vendor-specific information element comprises at leastan element ID field, a length field, an organizationally uniqueidentifier field, a version field, and a Cisco-compatible typeextensions version field.
 67. The wireless station of claim 65, whereinthe vendor-specific information element comprises at least an element IDfield, a length field, an organizationally unique identifier field, anda data field.
 68. The wireless station of claim 61, wherein the accesspoint means comprises wireless router means.
 69. The wireless station ofclaim 68, wherein the wireless router means comprises WiFi™ devicemeans.
 70. The wireless station of claim 61, wherein the processor meansis further configured to transmit an authentication frame from thewireless station to establish a connection to the access point means.71. A computer program product, comprising: a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium comprising: at least one instruction forcausing a computer to locate character set information identifying anon-Unicode character set for an access point in a wireless beaconbroadcast by the access point, the wireless beacon comprising a serviceset identification information element comprising a service setidentification for the access point encoded in the character set, atleast one instruction for causing a computer to decode the service setidentification information element packed in the wireless beacon inaccordance with the non-Unicode character set and broadcast by theaccess point using the non-Unicode character set, and at least oneinstruction for causing a computer to present the service setidentification in Unicode format to a user of at least one stationreceiving the wireless beacon to select a network connection.
 72. Thecomputer program product of claim 71, wherein locating the character setinformation comprises extracting the character set information from aspecified field of the service set identification information element.73. The computer program product of claim 72, wherein locating thecharacter set information comprises extracting the character setinformation from a dedicated encoding field of the service setidentification information element.
 74. The computer program product ofclaim 72, wherein locating the character set information comprisesextracting the character set information from a specified subset of bitsof a length field of the service set identification information element.75. The computer program product of claim 71, wherein locating thecharacter set information comprises extracting the character setinformation from a vendor-specific information element.
 76. The computerprogram product of claim 75, wherein the vendor-specific informationelement comprises at least an element ID field, a length field, anorganizationally unique identifier field, a version field, and aCisco-compatible type extensions version field.
 77. The computer programproduct of claim 75, wherein the vendor-specific information elementcomprises at least an element ID field, a length field, anorganizationally unique identifier field, and a data field.
 78. Thecomputer program product of claim 71, wherein the access point comprisesa wireless router.
 79. The computer program product of claim 78, whereinthe wireless router comprises a WiFi™ device.
 80. The computer programproduct of claim 71, further comprising at least one instruction forcausing a computer to transmit an authentication frame from at least onestation to establish a connection to the access point.